Recent production problems with the 2012 iMac have largely been solved, suggesting that supply constraints may ease, according to a report from China Times, summarized by BrightWire.

Quote:

- [T]he company's Taiwanese component suppliers noted that the assembling conformity rate for the new iMac has been improved and mass production started in December 2012. Sales of the device may be boosted in 1Q 2013.

- As new products will usually see orders peak within the first four months after they are launched, the shipments of the new iMac are expected to remain stable through 1Q 2013.

Apple CEO Tim Cook noted in last week's analyst call that iMac shipments would remain constrained through Q1, with the company giving this as a large part of the reason for selling 1.1 million fewer Macs in Q4 2012 compared to Q4 2011.

Currently 27-inch iMacs are showing delivery times of 3-4 weeks, with 21.5-inch models showing 2-3 weeks.

It was clear that the new iMac wasn't ready in November. Launching a major product line with only a few hundred thousand units in stock during the holiday quarter? That caused a 700,000 iMacs backlog which Apple has to fill.

Looking back, it would have been better if Apple simply specs-bump their iMacs to Ivy Bridge some time in the summer, which was dead-easy to do. Then announce the new design when Haswell is ready. They have ample time to iron out the production issues and still have computers to sell.

What is Tim Cook thinking lately? The Maps fiasco (which you can reasonably blame Scott Forstall when he told Cook "it's ready"), and now the iMac conundrum.

It was clear that the new iMac wasn't ready in November. Launching a major product line with only a few hundred thousand units in stock during the holiday quarter? That caused a 700,000 iMacs backlog which Apple has to fill.

Looking back, it would have been better if Apple simply specs-bump their iMacs to Ivy Bridge some time in the summer, which was dead-easy to do. Then announce the new design when Haswell is ready. They have ample time to iron out the production issues and still have computers to sell.

What is Tim Cook thinking lately? The Maps fiasco (which you can reasonably blame Scott Forstall when he told Cook "it's ready"), and now the iMac conundrum.

I completely agree with this. I think it's way too early to judge Tim Cook overall, but this was a major and avoidable screw up. The previous body could have been upgraded to Ivy Bridge and new GPU last summer, so they would have had ample stock for back-to-school and the holidays. As it was, they were selling old tech for back-to-school and next to nothing for the holidays. I expect more from a supply chain guru. And now how long will the upgrade cycle be for Haswell, which drops this summer?

It was clear that the new iMac wasn't ready in November. Launching a major product line with only a few hundred thousand units in stock during the holiday quarter? That caused a 700,000 iMacs backlog which Apple has to fill.

Looking back, it would have been better if Apple simply specs-bump their iMacs to Ivy Bridge some time in the summer, which was dead-easy to do. Then announce the new design when Haswell is ready. They have ample time to iron out the production issues and still have computers to sell.

Yeah, looking back that definitely looks like the wiser move. My only thought, no reason for apple to wait for haswell (summer). If they updated iMacs last summer they could easily announce/release new iMacs around the now/February timeframe. New design, SSD, and fusion drive would be enough reason to update.

I completely agree with this. I think it's way too early to judge Tim Cook overall, but this was a major and avoidable screw up. The previous body could have been upgraded to Ivy Bridge and new GPU last summer, so they would have had ample stock for back-to-school and the holidays. As it was, they were selling old tech for back-to-school and next to nothing for the holidays. I expect more from a supply chain guru. And now how long will the upgrade cycle be for Haswell, which drops this summer?

Was Cook in charge of logistics when Steve had to back off of the 450 mhz G4 and ship the 400 mhz instead? And when Steve had to stand on stage and apologize for not hitting 3Ghz with the G5? Seems this is just history repeating itself.

It was clear that the new iMac wasn't ready in November. Launching a major product line with only a few hundred thousand units in stock during the holiday quarter? That caused a 700,000 iMacs backlog which Apple has to fill.

Looking back, it would have been better if Apple simply specs-bump their iMacs to Ivy Bridge some time in the summer, which was dead-easy to do. Then announce the new design when Haswell is ready. They have ample time to iron out the production issues and still have computers to sell.

What is Tim Cook thinking lately? The Maps fiasco (which you can reasonably blame Scott Forstall when he told Cook "it's ready"), and now the iMac conundrum.

It was clear that the new iMac wasn't ready in November. Launching a major product line with only a few hundred thousand units in stock during the holiday quarter? That caused a 700,000 iMacs backlog which Apple has to fill.

Looking back, it would have been better if Apple simply specs-bump their iMacs to Ivy Bridge some time in the summer, which was dead-easy to do. Then announce the new design when Haswell is ready. They have ample time to iron out the production issues and still have computers to sell.

What is Tim Cook thinking lately? The Maps fiasco (which you can reasonably blame Scott Forstall when he told Cook "it's ready"), and now the iMac conundrum.

The older design with upgraded components, DVD, and FW800 would have been a better machine too.

Was Cook in charge of logistics when Steve had to back off of the 450 mhz G4 and ship the 400 mhz instead? And when Steve had to stand on stage and apologize for not hitting 3Ghz with the G5? Seems this is just history repeating itself.

Yup.

Or when the Cube came out of the box with hair line cracks? Or how about when the G5 iMac capacitors exploded? This kind of stuff happens all the time but the difference then was that no one was paying attention to Apple. Now Apple sneezes and it's stock drops 15%.

I hope someone at the shareholder's meeting gives Tim a surgically precise earful about this screwup. There's no reason for a company with Apple's resources to go into a holiday period with no stock of an iconic product. What good is "thinner" if you can't even buy the darn thing?

I completely agree with this. I think it's way too early to judge Tim Cook overall, but this was a major and avoidable screw up. The previous body could have been upgraded to Ivy Bridge and new GPU last summer, so they would have had ample stock for back-to-school and the holidays. As it was, they were selling old tech for back-to-school and next to nothing for the holidays. I expect more from a supply chain guru. And now how long will the upgrade cycle be for Haswell, which drops this summer?

While it is easy in hindsight to pick apart the decisions made here it would have been more difficult judging when to release the new design before hand. The main reason for supply problems with this new design was an issue ramping up production. This would have been difficult to predict when the decision to release was made as much of the production engineering would still be being done. These things have to be decided way before anything is production ready and it is normally not a good idea to sit on designs for too long because they get leaked and the competition have more time to catch up. Apple designs normally push production engineering technology to the limits which is why it usually takes a year or so for the competition to come out with similar designs, this is another reason why they bring product to market sooner rather than playing it safe.

arrggg... I'm disgruntled that 2 year old iMac DVD drive doesn't work anymore (IT'S LESS THAN 2 YEARS OLD!!!!!).
Why should I give you more $ Apple, where's the quality!?!?!

Every company has quality problems. Apple has fewer than any other computer manufacturer according to Consumer Reports. It's a good idea to purchase the 3 year AppleCare plan with all hardware. It would not only replace your DVD, but it provides full genius and phone support for the 3 years. A really good deal.